Adjustable loading brace for railway cars



Julyz 1932- A. E. MACKEY 1,868,638

ADJUSTABLE LOADING BRAGEv FOR RAILWAY CARS July 26, 1932.

A. E. MACKEY ADJUSTABLE LOADING BRACE FOR RAILWAY CRS Filed March 10. 1931 4 Sheds-Sheet 2 AUBERT ACKEY I QBKY Z7 ATTC NEYS July 26, 1932. A. E. MACKEY 1,853,638

ADJUSTABLE LOADING BRACE FOR RAILWAY CARS Filed March 1o. 19:51 4 sheets-sheet s INVENTOR fk B11-RT E MAC/ffy,

ATTORNEYS A. E. MACKEY ADJUSTABLE LOADING BRACEFOR RAILWAY CARS 'July 26, 1932.

4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed March l0, 1951 INVENTOR ALBERT E MACKEY www ATTORNEYS :in: T 1.1%.-- Q --..--.Ee

lflll I I I I l l I l I I I l Il Patented July 26 1.932

UNITEDSTAJTES PATENT oFF:

ALBERT E. MACKEY, 0F BATAVIA, NEW `YORK ADJUSTABLE LOADING BRACE FOR RAILWAY CARS Application led March 10, 1931. Serial No. 521,489.

This invention relates to loading braces` for railway freight and express cars, and particularly to adjustable loading braces of which some elements at least may constitute permanent parts of the car.

In loading cars with goods for shipment it is very important that the goods be so placed in the car and so held in place that there will be no opportunity for substantial movement with respect to each other or with respect to the car while in transit. The importance of thus loading cars applies both to express shipments where there is comparatively little switching of the express cars but where the goods are usually more valuable or more easily injured, and to freight shipments where the car forms part of a train that is added to and subtracted from by switching at various points along its route.

With goods which are shipped in full carload lots it is possible to effect bracing against substantial 4movement by packing the goods so closely throughout the car that the goods brace themselves against the sides of the car. This, of course, involves packing across the car doors and makes both the loading and the unloading of the car somewhat inconvenient.

When goods are shipped in less than carload lots, however, and particularly when these less than carload lots are made up of packages of various sizes and shapes, 1t is necesc sary to brace the load to prevent its movement toward unloaded parts of the car. This bracing problem is one that has not heretofore been solved to the satisfaction of both the shippers and the railroad companies.

One of the most common methods of bracing loadsin railway cars has been to use ordinary pieces of timber such as 2x4s or 4 X 43s and to toe-nail them into the sides and floors of the cars, frequently with comparatively large spikes, the removal of the braces usually destroying a large part of the lumber used in making them andalso doing considerable damage to the lining of the cars. This method of bracing is particularly 0bj ectionable when employed with refrigerator cars which have insulated linings that are frequently seriously damaged by the spikes used to secure the braces to the sides of the cars.

Various attempts have been made heretofore to provide adjustable loading braces having sullicient flexibility of adjustment to take care of loads of varying character, but none of these attempts has quite solved the problem presented. In the first place, it is important to avoid permanent projections into the car from the lining of the car, since such projections are apt to cause damage to the goods being shipped if they happen to be where the goods engage them. In the second place, a loading brace construction of suicient flexibility of adjustment to take care of loads of varying character must be so constructed and arranged that it will not interfere with the convenient loading of the goods into the car and that it may readily be brought into bracing position after the goods have been loaded into position to be braced. In the third place, a loading brace construction for cars adapted to handle a wide variety of loads and a wide variety of classes of goods must have such complete flexibility of adjustment as to adapt itself not only to loads of every height in the car, but also to loads of varying height in the same car as, for example, two tier loads of different tier extent lengthwise of the car. Moreover, such flexibility of adjustment must include such ineness of adjustment as will insure positive bracing of the load against substantial shaking orshifting.

A general objectof the present invention is to provide an adjustable loading brace of such flexibility of adjustment, of such convenience of manipulation and of such strong and durable construction and so located and arranged in the car that not only does it answer all of the conditions of a satisfactor loading brace hereinabove set forth, but that it will continue to perform its functions satisfactorily throughout the life of the car.

A particular object of the invention is to provide an adjustable loading brace of such simple and compact construction that the essential supporting members of this brace may readily and easily be moved to a position 1n which they will not interfere at all with any of the uses to which the car may beput and in which position they can be maintained until ready for use, leaving both the walls and the ioor of the car free from any projections in the goods-containing areas.

Other objects and important eaturesof the invention will appear from the tollowmg description and claims when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings in which- Figure 1 is a transverse section through a railway car equipped with loading braces embodying the present invention, this View showing the interior of one half the car 1n perspective and showing the loading braces in operative position, the load being omitted;

Figure 2 is a vie-w similar to Figure 1 but showing the loading braces in their inoperative position with the crossbars removed and the vertical supports for these crossbars suspended from the ceiling of the car.

Figure 3 is a longitudinal section through a part of a car having therein loading braces embodying the present invention showing the mode of using such braces with a two tier load that also comes part way across the doorways;

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional detail showing the inset tracks for the vertical supports for the braces, this View showing the upper and middle tracks for the vertical supports for the upper tier braces; y

Figure 5 is a vertical elevation, with parts in section, of one of the vertical supports Jfor the upper tier loading braces, this view showinfr the locking dog construction;

`igure 6 is a detail elevation of the lower part of one of the full length vertical supports for the crossbars, this view showing the I end brace for use when loading across a doorway' Figure 7 is a detail View showing the socket for receiving the squared end of the end brace illustrated 1n Figure 6, this socket being located on another vertical support on the same side of the car as the vertical support illustrated in Figure 6; and

Figure 8 is a section on the line 8-8 oi' Figure 5.

In the illustrative embodiment of the invention, removable crossbars or braces 2, which may be cut from 4f- X 4 timbers, are cut to such. lengths that their ends may be received in vertical box channels 4 having holes 6 drilled or punched through their sides at such distances apart, for example 1, as will permit vertical adjustment of the crossbars 2 to bring them to any desired elevation above the licor of the car. At their upper ends the channels 4 are hinged to carrlages 8 arranged to travel lengthwise of the car 1n guideways 10, each of these guideways being provided with upper Yand lower flanges 12 and 14 to hold the carriages 8 against movement out of the guideways. Each ing from the ceiling of the car.

to lock the carriages 8 in any desired position of adjustment along the guideways 10. Each carriage is provided with two of the dogs 18 pivoted at each end of the carriage so that one dog engages a rack tooth to hold c the carriage against movement in one direction and the other dog engages another tooth to hold the carriage against movement in the other direction, the carriages thus bein held positively against movement out of adjusted position.

lThe dogs 18 are illustrated in detail in Fig. 5 and it will be noted that each dog has a projection 20 adapted to be engaged by a hook 22 as shown at the upper left part of Fig. 5 to hold the dog out of engagement with the rack teeth when moving the carriage 8 along the guideways 10, the upper face of each of the projections 20 being bevelled as shown at 24 to engage the curved under face of the hook 22 to lock the dog in its tooth-engaging position when the carriage 8, and with it the Vertical support 4, has been moved to its desired adjusted position on the guideway 10. This prevents the jar of the car when in transit, or when it is Jeing switched, from throwing the dogs out of their locking positions and thus permitting the brace to move out of its bracing position.

The vertical channels or supports 4 for the crossbars or braces 2 are preferably of two lengths, the long channels extending trom the upper guideways 10 to a point near the floor of the car and being provided with carriages 26 received in guideways 28, also provided with racks 16, the guideways 28 not having upper ianges such as the flanges 12 of the guideways 10, thus permitting the carriages 26 to be swung into and out ot' the guideways 28 when it is desired to move the vertical channels or supports 4 out of their operative positions on the side of the car and to suspend them from the hooks 30 depende The carriages 26 are rigidly attached to the webs of the channels 4 and are provided with dogs 18 like those of the upper carriages 8 and with the locking hooks 22.

rlShe short vertical supports or channels 4 have similar carriages 32 traveling in intermediate guideways 34 in the sides of the car, these guideways being of the same construction as the guideways 28 whereby the carriages 32 may be swung into and out of the guideways when it is desired to swing the short vertical supports into inoperative position and suspend them from the hooks 30 in the ceiling of the car. The carriages 82, like Cil the carriages 8 and 26, are provided with locking dogs 18 and hooks 22 for holding the dogs in locking position.

The crossbars or braces 2 are held in their adjusted positions in the vertical channels or supports 4 by pins 36 which are located in the holes 6 of the sides of the channels and which are each provided in the end which extends through the channel with a pivoted locking piece 38 swinging in a slot 40 in the end of the pin 36 from a position in alignment with the axis of the pin to a position at right angles thereto thus preventing the pin from moving back through the hole 6 until the locking piece 38 is again brought into axial alignment with the pin 36. These locking pieces 38 preferably have heads 42 which serve as counter weights to tend to hold them in the position at right angles to the pins. One of these pins 36 is placed below the cross brace 2 in each channel to support the cross brace and another is preferably placed immediately above the cross brace to prevent it from moving up and down.

When it is desired to extend a load in a car across the doorway, as shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings, it will be seen that inasmuch as the guideways 28 cannot extend across the doorway there will be no racks 16 with which the dogs 18 on the carriages 26 can cooperate. To provide for bracing a load in this position, end braces are provided, one on each side of the car. The illustrated end braces comprise a. threaded rod 44, hinged between ears forming part of a bracket 46 attached to one side of one of the full length vertical channels near the lower end thereof, a turn buckle 48 connecting the rod 44 to an oppositely threaded rod 50 having a squared end 52 adapted to be received in a squared socket 54 in a bracket 56 on the side of `the vertical channel normally located on the opposite side of the doorway of the car.

If desired, the load upon both sides of the doorway may be extended over the door opening and the vertical supports may be braced against each other as shown in Fig. 3, or the load upon one side of the doorway may be loaded in the usual manner so that the vertical supports for the cross brace bars 2 will be locked by their dogs to the racks in the lower guideway 28 and the vertical supports for that part of the load that extends over the doorway will then be braced against the ones that are already locked in position. The turn buckles 48 permit the end braces to be extended so as to secure the cross braces tightly against the load.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that this invention provides an adjustable loading brace of such flexibility. of adjustment that it can be brought into positive bracing relation to substantially any load for which bracing is required and that when once brought into bracing` relation to the 10a-d the parts are so positively locked in their adjusted position that the jars and shocks and other incidents to the movement of the car with its load in transit and in the making up of trains and the'breaking up of trains to remove certain cars therefrom will not cause hedbrace to get out of bracing relation to the It will be seen that the comparatively close spacing of the teeth of the rack 16 and the comparatively close spacing of the holes 6 in the sides of the vertical channels 4 provide for such close adjust-ments as are necessary to insure proper bracing of loads such as illustrated in Fig. 3, in which the crossbars or braces 2 engage the curved surfaces of barrels orkegs, there being provision for sufficient movement of the vertical channels about either their upper or their lower secured ends as fulcra. So that the dogs of the upper carriage 8 may engage teeth of the rack 16 in the guideway 10 that are not vertically above the teeth of the rack 16 in the guideway 28. In this way an adjustment of an intermediate crossbar may be obtained which is a fraction of the distance between successive-rack teeth. The same is true of the short vertical supports 4 as well as the long ones.

From the foregoing description and from the detailed illustration of the shape of `the dogs18 in Figure 5 of the drawings, it will be seen that when moving the flexible loading braces into bracing relation t0 a load in either end of the car, the dogs which would interfere with the free movement of the brace in that direction may be locked out of operative relation to the teeth of the racks 16 with which they are associated. The other dogs will then ride freely overthe teeth and as soon as the brace has engaged the load and been pushed into bracing relation will automatically engage the teeth and hold the brace in its adjusted bracing relation to the load. The brace can thus readily be operated by one man who can push one end of the brace at a time into load holding position, using both hands on a pry bar, if necessary, to see that the brace is tightly locked against the load without having to bother himself with the manipulation of the locking means until the brace has been pushed into and automatically held in its final position of adjustment, when he can, at his convenience, release the other dogs and thus lock the brace against movement in either direction.

One advantage of the loading brace of the present invention is that the bracing members may be left entirely out of bracing position until the load has been put in the car ready l for bracing, thus leaving both the sides and the bottom of the car entirely free from obstructions.

Another advantage of the flexible brace of the present invention is that it is unnecessary to waste any of the material used in bracing the load. The crossbars or brace members 2, which are the only wooden parts of the structure, simply rest in the vertical supports 4 and are thus not injured and can be used over and over again. Thus without injury to the interior of the car and without any destruction of bracing materlals substantially all of the bracing effects that can be obtained with nailed in braces are obtainable with the flexible loading brace herein disclosed.

What is claimed as new is:

l. A flexible loading brace for railway cars comprising, in combination with the car, upright supports on opposite sides of the lcar for removable crossbars, said supports being bodily movable lengthwise of the car,

and means Jfor positively securing said supports in their diierent positions of bodily adjustment lengthwise of the car, comprising means for automatically retaining each support in itsload bracing adjustment.

2. An adjustable loading brace for railway cars comprising, in combination with the car, upright supports on opposite sides of the car constructed to receive and confine the ends of removable crossbars against movement both lengthwise of the car and vertically, said supports being bodily movable lengthwise of the car, and means for securing said supports positively in their different positions of adjustment lengthwise of the car.

3. A loading brace for railway cars comprising, in combination with the car, upright supports for removable crossbars, said upright supports being hinged at their upper ends and being free when not engaged by crossbars to swing from positions on opposite sides of the car in which they cooperate to hold the crossbars into substantially horizontal inoperative positions in the upper part of the car.

4. A loading brace for railway cars comprising, in combination with the car, upright supports for removable crossbars, said upright supports being hinged at their upper ends to opposite sides of the car to swing from positions against the sides of the car in which they are opposed to each other into substantially horizontal inoperative positions in the upper part of the car.

5. A loading brace for railway cars comprising, in combination with the car, upright supports for removable crossbars, said supports being carried upon the sides of the car,

cmg bodily movable lengthwise of the car and eing each hinged to swing when not engaged by crossbars, from its operative position against the side of the car into an inoperative position in the upper part of the car.

6. A loading brace for railway cars comprising, in combination with the car, upright supports for removable crossbars, said supports being carried upon the sides of the car,

being bodily movable lengthwise of the car and being each hinged to swing when not engaged by crossbars, from its operative position against the side of the car into an 1noperative position in the upper part of the car, and means for positively holding said supports in their different positions of adjustment lengthwise of the car.

7. An adjustable loading brace for railway cars comprising, in combination with the car, removable crossbars, upright supports on opposite sides of the car constructed to receive the ends of said crossbars and to hold them in different positions of vertical adjustment, said supports being movable bodily length- Wise of the car, and means for positively securing said supports in different positions of bodily adjustment lengthwise of the car.

8. An adjustable loadin brace for railway cars comprising, in com ination with the car, removable crossbars, upright channel bars, bodily movable lengthwise of the car, for receiving the ends of said crossbars, means for securing said removable crossbars at different positions of vertical adjustment in said channel bars, and means for positively securing said channel bars in different positions of bodily adjustment lengthwise of said car.

9. An adjustable loading brace for railway cars comprising, in combination with the car, upright channels for confining the ends of removable crossbars against movement lengthwise of the car independent of the movement of said channels, upper and lower guides on the sides of the car, and means carried by said channels and cooperating with said guides for securing said channels, and with them the removable crossbars, in different positions of adjustment lengthwise of the car, said means comprising means for automatically retaining each support in its load bracing adjustment.

10. An adjustable brace for railway cars comprising, in combination with the car, upright channels on opposite sides of the car, means carried by said channels for supporting removable crossbars at substantially any position of vertical adjustment in said channels, and means, including means forming a part of the permanent structure of the sides of the car, for securing said upright channels in different positions of bodily adjustment lengthwise of the car.

1l. In adjustable loading brace for railway lcars comprising, in combination with the car, opposed upright channel bars for receiving removable crossbars extending across the car, means carried by said channel bars for supporting said crossbars at substantially any position of vertical adjustment in said channel bars, and means comprising tracks extending lengthwise of the car for securing said channel bars in different positions of bodily adjustment lengthwise of the car.

12. A11 adjustable loading brace for railway cars comprising upright supports on opposite sides of the car shaped to conne the ends of removable crossbars against movement lengthwise of the car independent of said supports, connections between said sup- `ports and the sides of the ca r permitting bodily movement .of said supports lengthwise of the car, and means for positively securing said supports in their dierent positions of bodily adjustments lengthwise of the car, comprising means for automatically retaining each support in its load bracing adjustment.

13. An adjustable loading brace for railway cars comprising, in combination with the car, upright supports on opposite sides of the car shaped to receive and confine the ends of removable crossbars against independent movement lengthwise of the car, guides on the sidejwalls of the car by which said'upright `supports are guided for bodily movement lengthwise of the car, and means carried by said supports and cooperating with said guides for locking said supports in their different positions of adjustment lengthwise of the car, said means comprising means for automatically retaining each support in its load bracing adjustment.

14. An adjustable loading brace for railwaycars comprising, in combination with the car, tracks extending substantially throughout the length of the car on opposite sides and near the upper part thereof, a carriage movable on each track, a support for removable crossbars suspended from each carriage to swing from a horizontal inoperative position in the upper part of the car to a vertical crossbar supporting position against the side of the car, means for locking said carriage against movement along said track, and a brace member carried by said support for bracing the lower end of the support against movement lengthwise of the car.

15. An adjustable loading brace for railway cars comprising upright channels on opposite sides of the car for receiving cross brace members, tracks extending lengthwise of the car near the upper part of the interior thereof, carriages on said tracks fromwhich said channels are suspended whereby said channels may be bodily7 adjusted lengthwise of said car, and means for securing said carriages and said channels positively in the different positions of adjustment, comprising dogs automatically retaining each support in its load bracing adjustment.

16. A iexible loading brace for railway cars comprising upper and lower tracks extending lengthwise of the car on opposite sides thereof, carriages movable on said tracks, supports for cross brace bars, said supports being each mounted "on upper and lower carriages and movable therewith lengthwise of said car, and means for securing said carriages and therewith said su ports positively in different positions of justment lengthwise of said car.

17. An adjustable loading brace for railway cars comprising tracks extending lengthwise of the car on opposite sides and near the upper part thereof, carriages movable on said tracks, a support for cross brace bars suspended from each carriage to swing from a substantially horizontal position in the upper part of the car to an upright crossbar supporting position against the side of the car, and means for securing the carriage and also the lower part of the associated support positively against movement lengthwise of the carin the, different positions of adjustment.

18. An adjustable loading brace for railway cars comprising upright supports on opposite sides of the car constructed to receive the ends of removable crossbars and to hold them in different positions of vertical adjustment, upper and lower guides extending lengthwise of each side of the car, with which guides said vertical supports are connected and along which they are bodily adjustable, recesses in said guides and cooperating dogs connected with said vertical supports for engaging said recesses and positively securing said supports in different positions of bodily adjustment lengthwise of the car.

19. In a construction of the class described, a guide provided with suitable spaced notches,

and a carriage traveling in said guide and provided with dogs constructed to cooperate with said notches to lock said carriage against elo movement in either direction along said guide.

20. A flexible loading brace for railway cars comprising upper and lower tracks extending lengthwise of the car on opposite sides thereof, carriages movable on said tracks, supports for cross brace bars, each mounted on upper and lower carriages and movable. therewith lengthwise of said car, `and means for securing said carriages and therewith said supports positively in different positions of adjustment lengthwise of said car, comprising oppositely acting dogs on each carriage arranged to engage said track and prevent movement of said carriage in either direction.

21. A ilexible loading brace for railway cars comprising upper and lower tracks extending lengthwise of the car on opposite sides thereof, carriages movable on said tracks, supports for cross brace bars, each mounted on upper and lower carriages and movable therewith lengthwise of said car, means for securing said carriages and therewith said supports positively in different positions of adjustment lengthwise-of said car, comprising oppositely acting dogs on each carriage arranged to engage said track, and means for holding one of said dogs out of los operative relation to said track when the carriage is being moved with the support int/o load bracing adjustment.

22. A flexible loading brace for railway cars comprising upper and lower toothed tracks extending lengthwise of the c ar on opposite sides thereof, carriages movable on said tracks, and supports for cross brace bars, each mounted on upper and lower carriages and bodily movable therewith lengthwise of said car, each carriage being provided with oppositely acting dogs cooperating with the associated toothed track to secure said supports positively in different positions of adjustment lengthwise of said car.

23. A flexible loading brace for railway ears comprising upper and lower toothed tracks extending lengthwise of the car on opposite sides thereof, carriages movable on said tracks, and supports for cross brace bars, each mounted on upper and lower carriages and bodily movable therewith lengthwise oit said car, each carria e being provided with oppositely acting ogs cooperating with the associated toothed track to secure said supports positively in dii'erent positions of adjustment lengthwise of said car, and means on each carriage for holding one of said dogs out of operative relation to the track when moving the brace into load bracing position.

24. A iiexible loading brace for railway cars comprising upper and lower toothed tracks extending lengthwise of the car on opposite sides thereof, carriages movable on said tracks, and supports for cross brace bars, each mounted on upper and lower carriages and bodily movable therewith lengthwise of said car, each carriage being provided with oppositely acting dogs cooperating with the associated toothed track to secure said supports positively in different positions of adjustment lengthwise o said car, and means carried by each carriage for holding said dogs against movement out of trackengaging position.

, Signed at Rochester, N. Y., this 27th day of February, 1931.

e ALBERT E. MACKEY. 

